FASTING: A MUCH NEGLECTED CURE Dr. Mary Ruth Swope
It is no secret that thousands of Americans have deep-rooted health problems. For example:
• They have cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, hardening of the arteries, arthritis, gout, diabetes - many of which are said to be incurable.
• They have mental health problems. Some are very fearful, anxious, and frustrated by life.
There is a well-documented cure for most of these and many other conditions that has been buried, replaced by new but "unproven" technologies in health care. The cure to which I refer is FASTING.
While you are pondering that last statement, let me give you another thought for your consideration.
Probably the most unbeatable combination for total healing of the body is FASTING and PRAYER.
These are two of the most powerful "weapons" in our personal arsenal for eliminating illness, even the so-called incurable illnesses. I believe, like a scientist who said, "I do not believe there is any incurable illness but I admit there are millions of incurable people." Many who refuse to believe in fasting and prayer would, in my estimation, fall into that category.
When I think of fasting, two distinct things immediately come to mind:
1. The spiritual aspects of fasting with all the
lessons to be learned and
2. The physical benefits of fasting with all the case histories of success.
Through years of experience in nutrition, I have learned that few people know about fasting. Very few have followed the biblical pattern of fasting one or two days each week. In fact, schools of theology and medicine both teach virtually nothing about either fasting or nutrition.
I have heard many orthodox doctors speak negatively about fasting - warning patients that it can be
very dangerous. Under a few circumstances, it can be! There are untold benefits, physically and spiritually for those who do it.
Let's define what I mean by fasting. Experts use slightly different terms and give varying examples. For the purpose of this article, fasting is denying yourself food and/or beverages of all kinds, except water, for a given period of time. There are three basic ways to fast:
I. The TOTAL FAST - just what you might guess. It means no food or beverages of any kind. The Bible
records that Moses completed two 40-day total fasts. These are recorded in Deuteronomy 9 and 10. Also in I
Kings 19:8. Elijah went for 40 days and nights on a total fast. Don't try it yourself unless God tells you to do that.
No one can survive more than three days at the most without water. Forty days without food is no problem for most of us - but only a supernatural fast could keep us alive 40 days without water. Most other biblical records of total fasts are from 24 hours to three days in length. Esther told her people not to eat or drink - day or night - for three days (Esther 4:16). But let me repeat: Most people, unless told by the Holy Spirit, should not go off water for three days.
II. The Absolute Fast - this means no food or liquid of any kind except water. This is the kind I have practiced regularly for more than 15 years. I deny myself food from Friday night after dinner until Saturday night dinner. This has caused me to humble myself before God. It "afflicted my soul," as the Scripture says. Overtime, it gave my spirit power over my mind, emotions, and will. I consider these to the greatest possible benefits.
I started fasting on Saturdays because I was really hungry to know God better. I wanted to feel closer to God - to hear Him speak to me, if He wanted to. Also, I wanted to learn to pray more and more effectually.
Certainly these goals have been achieved to a satisfactory level. I believe I understand true repentance and true humility more after fasting for a few months. It caused me to become more God-conscious and less worldly minded - and I'm happy about that.
In addition my physical health has definitely improved. Some of these changes are only partially documented by medical records but other things are clinically observable. For example:
• My cholesterol level lowered from slightly above 200 to 154 in a relatively short period of time;
• My bad cholesterol count is down;
• My good cholesterol count is up - so I have less chance for heart disease;
• My tendency toward hypoglycemia has leveled - I have no more energy swings from high to low as I
once did. I'm energetic all the time;
• My tongue is never coated;
• My eyes are clear and very free from signs of disease;
• I don't have cravings or go on food binges anymore. Food isn't preeminent in my thinking all the time. I don't give a hoot about candy, doughnuts, cakes, pies, ice cream, and many other poor nutrition foods;
• I've given up most of my caffeine, so my heart doesn’t have irregular palpitations;
• I'm hardly ever sick. I have a constant high level of energy - physical and mental;
• I sleep well and feel rested when I awaken.
III. The Partial Fast - is the third method of fasting. This is when you deny yourself certain foods and drinks - like the Catholics giving up meat on Friday, or Daniel, who gave up bread, meat, and wine for 21 days (Dan.10:3). A vegetarian diet would not be an example of a partial fast, in my way of thinking. They are not giving up meat for an occasional meal or period of time, but rather have adopted a vegetarian lifestyle.
A partial fast simply means eating very light meals, or fruits, or freshly-squeezed juices of fruits or vegetables - no heavy foods - no proteins, fats, complex carbohydrates, or grains. Daniel's fast included all the grains, but no meat, milk, eggs, or cheese. So partial fasts include giving up some of your favorite foods, especially those that we crave and overeat.
A partial fast simply means eating very light meals, or fruits, or freshly-squeezed juices of fruits or vegetables - no heavy foods - no proteins, fats, complex carbohydrates, or grains. Daniel's fast included all the grains, but no meat, milk, eggs, or cheese. So partial fasts include giving up some of your favorite foods, especially those that we crave and overeat.
In my estimation, a teaspoon or two of BarleyLife is an excellent food to take when fasting. Your cells are "satisfied" with the nutrients they receive, while the digestive system continues to rest. Six calories per teaspoon is not enough to stimulate metabolic processes. I'd also like to suggest that maximum benefits of fasting occur when you accompany your food and drink fast with a fast from your television viewing,b newspaper reading, and radio listening, as well as your hobbies and pleasure-giving indulgences.
In fact, prayer and fasting is the winning combination - physically, mentally, emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually. You feel enriched and at peace, especially when fasting is accompanied by your being quiet in your spirit. Wholeness of body, soul, and spirit can be best achieved by prayer and fasting.
This has been my own experience.
An in-depth presentation on Prayer and Fasting may be found in my book
THE ROOTS AND FRUITS OF FASTING
RULES FOR FASTING
Rules for getting ready for a fast:
1. Determine the length - set a time limit.
2. Begin by refraining from huge meals.
3. Plan to spend long periods of time in prayer.
4. Read large sections of Scripture.
5. Select key verses to memorize.
6. Worship the Lord.
Rules about breaking the fast:
• Be wise - don't undue quickly all you've gained. That means:
1. Begin with a very light meal - no greasy, fatty foods. Start with soup, toast, or fruit.
2. For the next meal, have a big, raw salad as the main dish - this acts tike a brush in your intestines.
3. The longer you fast, the more gradually you should break it. Show real self-control.
4. One more point: As a result of fasting - even if it's only for a couple of days – your stomach will have contracted, and it is usually not wise to expand it again to the former size. Most people in Western civilization have an over-expanded stomachs.
You will find that as you start eating after a fast, you will begin to feel full sooner than you would before you fasted. Habit will make you go on eating the rest of the meal, but wisdom says, "Why not stop there?
You've had enough." Therefore, fasting is a way to change eating habits, which many of us need to do.
68 Years of Nutritional Study
by Dr. Mary Ruth Swope
The greatest lessons I have learned after 68 years of study, research and teaching in the field of Foods
and Nutrition, mostly at the university level, are these:
1. Life can only come from life. “Dead food” makes dead people.
2. Life begins, is maintained and ends at the cellular level. Doctor’s agree!
3. Plant foods grown organically, served fresh, raw and unprocessed are our best sources of life.
They also are our best “medicines”. (The Father of Medicine, Hippocrates, said this in 450 BC – before the birth of Jesus.)
4. Man-made foods are “dead foods”; they cause disease and early death.
5. International research studies have proven that the Jewish dietary laws, when followed, produce the healthiest people on earth. (Read Genesis 1:29)
6. Herbs made from stems, roots, bark, leaves, fruit and blossoms of natural plants outperform synthetic drugs to restore sick cells in almost all cases – and without dangerous, expensive
side-effects.
7. The Bible declares barley leaves to be God’s champion food creation – the most perfect and complete of all foods. Leviticus 23:9-11 (offerings had to be perfect!)
8. I believe almonds are God’s second most perfect food creation. They are a near-perfect food.
Like barley, they are a first fruit.
9. I do not believe in the germ theory of disease. Disease results when the immune system is weak.
Poor eating and lifestyle habits cause a weakened immune system. We are then subjected to all kinds of disease because of a lack of fighter cells.
10. The “Real Doctor” is in every cell. He has a recipe for changing any sick cell into a healthy one.
Man-made drugs are needed only for crisis situations; Nutrients heal.
11. We were made to have Divine health with an expected life-span of 120 years. (Genesis 6:3)
12. Following are the basic rules of a healthy diet. I am trusting God is the most brilliant Scientist ever – and I hope you, too, will follow His advice for your physical health. Here is the record of His advice:
A. Plan A of the Original Diet for Adam and Eve (Genesis 1:29). All of Nature’s foods are balanced sources of protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals (the natural medicines). Eat a wide variety in every category for the best health.
• Eleven cereal grains (barley, wheat, rye, spelt, millet, oats, etc.)
• Sixty-four vegetables.
• Beans, legumes, lentils, seeds and nuts.
• Forty-six fruits.
• Goats’ milk, eggs, cheese and butter were allowed.
• God allowed “a little” honey.
Then God cursed the soil and people began to lose their vibrant health.
B. Plan B of the Original Diet.
In Genesis 3:18 God added the green herbs of the field to their diet.
(Things like garlic, capsicum, black cohost, bee pollen, parsley, black walnut, catnip etc.).
C. Plan C of the Original Biblical Diet
In Genesis 9:3 God added meat to the approved diet with carefully designed rules to distinguish clean from unclean meats. See Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 for guidance.
Modern-day researchers confirm this information.
These are the basic rules of a healthy diet.
A very important last point is this: the quickest, easiest most accurate way to evaluate the status of your own health (before doctors get involved) is to test the pH of your saliva and urine. “
Nature's Healing Gifts Dr. Mary Ruth SwopeGREEN VEGETABLES
Green vegetables have become the focus for natural health and healing. Living constituents of plants, and most importantly the chlorophyll, are receiving much attention today. They have become health giants and are recognized universally as necessities, not accessories. These jewels of nature are consumed by all of the species of animals, birds and fish in one form or another. Whether leaf or seed or sea plants each has a purpose to nourish, cleanse and detoxify its environment both before and after consumption. Fortunately, the varieties designed for humans are varied in their flavor and texture so that just about anyone can find one or more to enjoy.
The National Research Council has always recommended what any nutrition text book will tell you, YOU NEED ONE SERVING DAILY OF A DARK GREEN LEAFY OR DEEP YELLOW VEGETABLE. So let me ask you, how many servings of kale, collards, turnip greens, mustard greens, spinach, beet tops, carrots, pumpkin, squash or sweet potatoes have YOU had this week? You needed seven!
It's a problem! We don't like deep green leafy and yellow vegetables. We don’t eat them and increasingly we can't even find them where we're doing most of our eating. Consequently, we are no longer getting enough deep yellow and dark green foods ( and especially not enough raw greens) to stay healthy.
Why do we need a serving of deep green leafy vegetables every day? It is due to their unique nutritional contribution to the body's requirements for health. Green vegetables are excellent sources of complex
carbohydrates (the best kind), dietary fiber (so good for colon health), beta-carotene, chlorophyll and antioxidant activity. They are usually low in fat and high in minerals and vitamins. They also contain phytochemicals that lower our risk of cancer.
One special virtue of these veggies is their green color - chlorophyll. Chlorophyll in plants can be compared to the blood supply in humans. " Life is in the blood" and the life of plants is in the chlorophyll.
A recent discovery adds more importance to our daily need for green vegetables. When man (or animals) eats green plants, the blood molecules of the plant can become the blood molecules of man by a process biochemists call porphyrin biosynthesis. This then is the clincher. God in His infinite wisdom provided
perfectly for the self-repairing, self-rejuvenating, self- energizing of the physical man through chlorophyll – the blood of the plants.
So think of this, without plants there would be no animal or human life on earth! Chlorophyll, the kind found only in green vegetables, is absolutely essential to life.
And we need one-half of a cup daily to meet our need for health.
One last thought. There is no substitute in nature for chlorophyll. Your daily diet should include foods such as: turnip greens, collard greens, mustard greens, beet tops, dandelions, broccoli, kale, deep green lettuce leaves, parsley and other greens. If your diet is low on these foods, then you need to add a chlorophyll sources such as AIM’s BarleyLife and AIM’s LeafGreens. These two sources of concentrated chlorophyll will meet your body’s needs. They are the chemo-protectors, the chemo-preventors, chemo-attackers, chemo-reversers, yes, chemo-healers.
If you fail to eat green foods, you are failing to protect, reverse sickness or heal your body's cells. Is that what you want? Only you can decide.
* * * * *
Health Benefits of Fasting
1. Fasting initiates rapid weight loss with little or no hunger. Once the "ketosis" of fasting sets in, it becomes quite easy to go without food. Most people are surprised at how little desire for food they have while fasting.
2. Fasting promotes detoxification. As the body breaks down its fat reserves, it mobilizes and eliminates stored toxins.
3. Fasting gives the digestive system a much-needed rest. After fasting, both digestion and elimination are invigorated.
4. Fasting promotes the resolving of inflammatory processes, including painful inflammatory syndromes such as rheumatoid arthritis.
5. Fasting quiets allergic reactions, including asthma and hay fever.
6. Fasting promotes the drying up of abnormal fluid accumulations, such as edema in the ankles and legs and swelling in the abdomen.
7. Fasting corrects high blood pressure without drugs. Fasting will reduce blood pressure to a safe range within two weeks or less in the vast majority of cases. And the blood pressure will remain low after the fast if the person eats correctly and lives healthily.
8. Fasting makes it easy to overcome bad habits and addictions. Many people have overcome tobacco and alcohol addictions by fasting, and even drug addictions. Fasting rapidly dissipates the craving for nicotine, alcohol, caffeine, and other drugs.
9. Fasting clears the skin and whitens the eyes. It is common to see skin eruptions clear while fasting, and the whites of the eyes never look so clear and bright as they do after a fast.
10. Fasting restores taste appreciation for wholesome natural foods. People say that their taste buds come alive after fasting and that food never tasted so good.
11. Fasting is the perfect gateway to a healthful diet and lifestyle. Going on a fast gives you the motivation and enthusiasm to make a fresh start and commit yourself to a new and better way of life.
12. Fasting actually shrinks the stomach- not in a harmful way, but restoring it to its normal size. People tend to be satisfied with less food after fasting.
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